Defense leads the way for Huskies
ST. LOUIS – The Michigan Tech women’s basketball team won its third-straight game and snapped a seven-game winning streak by Missouri-St. Louis with a 68-62 win at the Mark Twain Building on Saturday afternoon.
The Huskies elevate to 7-2 overall and 2-0 in the GLIAC as the Tritons drop to 7-2 overall with a 4-0 standing in the GLVC.
“I’m super proud of our team for coming away with a gritty win on the road. UMSL is a really good team and we were able to slow them down in the 2nd half,” said Michigan Tech head coach Sam Clayton. “I thought Alyssa did a phenomenal job being physical with their post and making it tough for her to catch. Soraya made great decisions, especially late in the game when we needed to get good looks. I also thought Kaitlyn gave us a huge spark off the bench in the 2nd half. She hit big shots and defended well in her limited minutes.”
Michigan Tech forced 18 turnovers, which translated into 17 points, as Ella Mason led a trio of Huskies with 18 points, connecting on 7-9 free throws. Janie Tormanen added 12 points and four rebounds as Soraya Timms had 10 points and a team-high four assists. Kloe Zentkowski pulled down a team-leading six rebounds in 19 minutes of action.
The two teams traded leads seven times to open the game and kept it close until the Huskies earned some separation with 1:05 to go in the quarter, off of two free-throws by Mason.
The Huskies produced a 9-0 run to end the first quarter while holding the home squad scoreless for the final 2:07. Dani Nuest connected on a 3-pointer to retake the lead before Mason scored the final four points, making it a 23-17 edge of the Huskies after one quarter of play.
USML reclaimed the lead at the mark 5:10 in the second quarter after orchestrating a 9-2 run that extended to the three minute mark, seeing the Huskies trail 33-29 following a 3-pointer by Jaeda Wilson.
The Triton earned a 36-31 lead with an and-one by Morgan Ramthun and a shot by Kendall Standfest with time expiring, as USML outscored the Huskies 19-10 in the quarter. Mara Rieder and Lexi Hanna each accounted for 10 points in the first 20 minutes as Ramthun added a team high seven rebounds, including four on the offensive side, as the team won the rebounding battle 19-11. Despite trailing at the half, the Huskies went without a turnover in the first quarter, while causing eight turnovers by the Tritons.
After trailing halfway through the third quarter, the Huskies used a 7-0 boost with a layup in the lane by Alyssa Wypych to tie the game at 40-all with 4:15 to play in the quarter. Michigan Tech also held USML scoreless for over three minutes during the scoring spurt.
Kaitlyn Maxwell provided a boost off the bench in the third quarter with five points and a 3-pointer with 2:04 in the quarter to make it a 46-44 advantage for Michigan Tech. Mason chipped in free throws after the Black & Gold entered the bonus to make it 48-46 with one quarter to play as the Huskies outscored the Tritons 17-10.
Timms hit a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter as Standfest added a layup on the next possession to make it a seven-point advantage (53-46) with 8:02 to play before the Tritons found offensive success to claw back into the contest with a shot by Mara Rieder tying it at 53-all with under six to go.
The Huskies wouldn’t be denied down the stretch, as the Black & Gold hit timely shots and held the Tritons at bay. Michigan Tech mustered nine points in crunch time to earn a 10-point advantage with a triple by Maxwell with 28 seconds to play (67-57), with Tormanen adding two layups as Timms added a shot from in the paint to set up the sizable lead.
Missouri-St. Louis was forced to foul the rest of the game, as Mason added a free-throw before the contest was decided at 68-62.
Rieder had a game-high 20 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Tritons as Lexi Hanna finished with 15 points.
Up Next
The Huskies will close out the 2025 calendar and the non-conference slate at home next week, welcoming Northwood to the SDC Gymnasium on Saturday, slated for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.
